LITTLE BEASTS OF FIELD AND WOOD 



out and prolonged to a kind of whining snarl, ris- 

 ing at times so as to approach the screaming of a 

 hawk in quality. It is heard oftenest directly 

 after rain, when several of them may often be 

 heard answering each other from different parts 

 of the forest. 



I have seen them at different seasons running 

 about at the edge of the salt water, at a consider- 

 able distance from the woods, apparently for 

 the sake of tasting the salt. I am convinced 

 that most of our wild animals have the same 

 habit when the salt water is accessible, for I have 

 seen a woodchuck leave the woods, go down to 

 the edge of a salt pool left by the tide, and for 

 several seconds lap eagerly at the whitish scum 

 formed by the evaporation of the water. 



Gray squirrels are frequently tamed, and are said 

 to make most intelligent and entertaining pets, 

 although rather too much inclined to insist upon 

 having their own way about things. When not 

 confined in a cage their tricks are pretty certain to 



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